The first word that came to mind after watching “That Way Madness Lies”,
Sandra Luckow’s documentary about her older brother’s Duanne’s wildly
destructive tendencies brought on by paranoid schizophrenia, was
courageous. As a film professor at Yale, Columbia and Barnard with a
long career in filmmaking, Luckow could have made any number of films
that would have been less painful and confessional. However, she surely
must have understood that this was not just a bit of family history that
would draw an audience in the same way a roadside accident draws the
stares from bypassing cars. Its broader interest is in showing the
terrible lack of institutional support for families that have to cope
with a walking time-bomb like Duanne Luckow. While it is beyond the
scope of this article, I can say that I have seen such problems up-close
and can empathize deeply with what Sandra Luckow had to endure.
As American as apple pie, the Luckows hailed from Portland, Oregon where
her father operated an antique car repair shop. Mechanically gifted, he
built a tiny helicopter that he flew for pleasure. Showing the same
aptitude as his father, Duanne soon became his partner. In addition to
his talent for repairing cars, Duanne also became an avid home movie
buff, varying between the typical vacation fare and ambitious works
depicting himself as a James Bond type super-spy. He also was an
accomplished still photographer who managed to entice young women into
cheesecake type shoots that oddly enough substituted for any real
intimacy. Looking back at this and other eccentricities, Sandra wonders
whether the family might have sought professional help early on.
Obviously, those eccentricities were normal enough in a country that is
a breeding ground for maladjustment.
full: https://louisproyect.org/2018/12/14/that-way-madness-lies/